We are recruiting for an Associate (in the Policy Strand) – apply now!

Come and join our team!

Part-time role, 3 days per week (0.6 FTE) 

£32,000-35,000 FTE depending on experience (£19,200 – £21,000 pro rata)

We are looking to recruit an energetic and ambitious individual with a background in research and experience working in or around education and youth policymaking or political communications. Please find the full CfEY Policy Associate job advert here

About the job

The Policy Associate role covers a wide range of activity at CfEY. You’ll design and conduct research into a wide range of pressing education and youth topics, while using a wide range of strategies to shape the big conversations of our time on education and youth, as well as growing our organisation’s visibility and influence on key policymakers and decision makers.  

Sitting within CfEY’s Policy strand, you will work closely with the Head of Policy and alongside the Head of Engagement, Director of Partnerships and CEO to develop a strategic approach to growing CfEY’s voice, visibility and influence. You will then be instrumental in leading on the execution of this strategy. 

The Policy strand at CfEY is responsible for:

• Leading the organisation’s work on monitoring developments in the world of education and youth policy and commenting on these developments through a range of media (including writing for press, speaking on broadcast media and through social media)
• Growing the number and strength of the organisation’s relationships with key policymakers, decision makers and influencers. This includes key figures at the Department for Education and within central and local government, but also adjacent to government and in other roles of influence
• Providing training and leadership within the organisation on the state of the art in education and youth policy as well as effective policy shaping and influencing practice 
• Setting the agenda for and researching CfEY’s ‘Policy Investigations’ series, a set of timely research reports with the explicit aim of informing and shaping the country’s policy agenda
• Broadly leading on taking the findings of our research and advocating for them to influence education and youth policy in England

You will also work closely with the rest of our team, seeking out and delivering research, action, organisational development and communications projects for our clients. You will have a good level of autonomy over your work and will be in regular contact with senior leaders within client organisations. As a small and agile team, you may be asked to occasionally undertake tasks outside your role description to support the wider work of CFEY.

You can be located anywhere in the United Kingdom, but ideally you will be within comfortable travelling distance of London as there will be an expectation to spend approximately one day a week in total every fortnight in London, in particular to attend in person events and meetings in Westminster and beyond. Our office is in Hackney, London, and the team gathers there every other Monday. Everyone works from the office for at least one other day every fortnight. We offer an employer contribution pension (following a three-month probation period) and 20 days’ holiday per year (including bank holidays).

We will want to speak to at least two references and you will need to undergo an enhanced DBS check. Although we must ensure the safety of the children and young people we work with, we understand that people have different life experiences and come to the sector from different pathways. Please talk to us if you have concerns about a DBS check; we may still consider your application.

Ideally, we would like someone who can start in November 2023, but please talk to us about when you might be able to start if it’s sooner or later. 

The Process

To support equal opportunities and minimise the risk of bias, we ask candidates NOT to include their names in their CVs, cover letters and file names. 

Please send your application to our Operations Officer, Lee-Ann Jacobson, at: [email protected].

• CV and letter 

Please send a two-page CV tailored to this role (including two referees we can contact by phone) and a one-page letter explaining why you think you are suited to this job and would like to work with us by Sunday, October 1st at 10pm.

• Accessibility

Please note that we are happy to make reasonable adjustments to support disabled or neurodivergent applicants. We will share suggestions of adjustments we can make throughout the process, should you be selected for interview, but if at any time you would like to make a request or share any details of your needs, please do email [email protected]. Baz will treat your request with confidentiality (if needed) and will work out the best way to ensure our processes work for everyone.

• Interview 

We will inform you if you have been shortlisted as soon as possible. Interviews will take place in person on either 9th, 10th or 11th October (tbc), at our office in Hackney, London. Please ensure that you have flexibility around these dates so you are able to accept an invitation when extended.

• References and DBS check 

We will inform candidates who have been successful at interview as soon as possible before contacting referees. Appointments will be confirmed once we have received satisfactory references and DBS checks. 

Please find the full CfEY Policy Associate job advert pdf here

Please find the full CfEY Policy Associate job advert word doc here

Thank you for your interest!